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Sunday, January 29, 2012

The historical significance of the sock monkey

I, like many Americans, have fallen in love with the red-heel sock monkey. The cream and brown Rockford Red Heel socks have been manufactured in the Midwest by Fox River Mills since 1932. I've heard that the "sock monkey" was one of the many things that frugal mothers ingeniously created during the Great Depression when money was tight. They'd salvage their husband's threadbare and tattered work socks, mend them as best as they could, and with a few smart snips, sew up a quick doll for a children's toy. The tradition caught on, and the red-heel sock company began including instructions and a pattern for making the monkey with all of their packaged socks, a tradition that they carry on to this day.

The sock monkey's popularity has come and gone in the decades since then, and it is largely considered an old-fashioned and nostalgic piece of Americana. Most sock monkeys are handmade, like mine, and are one-of-a-kind. However, I've recently seen manufactured sock monkeys in Target, Pier 1, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, and other big chain retailers. I highly doubt these monkeys were made out of a real pair of socks, or even made in the United States, but they are definitely selling in large part due to the Kia Joyride commercial. Though I prefer handmade sock monkeys, you can't help but love this big guy.



Here's the monkey I just finished for a dear friend of mine. She plans to give it as a newborn baby gift to an expecting mother in her family.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

It's true

Sewing truly is a lost art. It's an art because it requires creative talent. It's lost because only a small percentage of people (traditionally, women) know how to thread a needle, and then know what to do with it.

My mom learned how to use a sewing machine in her high school home economics class. My grandmother made her children's clothes. She was born in the middle of the Great Depression, when sewing was a vital skill for women. Today, we buy our clothes "ready-made." I admit, I've never made a piece of clothing. However, I do mend my own, and my friends' and family's. I'm constantly hit up for repairing the crotch of a favorite pair of jeans, a hole in a t-shirt neck or sleeve, or sewing on a button that popped off. They sit and watch me work, and are continually amazed when their items are as good as new just minutes later. They don't have to throw out those jeans, or the shirt, and a lost button doesn't mean the item of clothing is useless. I'm happy to mend things for them. It's a simple, basic skill, and it amazes me that I'm one of the few people my age that have it.

What I sew for my own enjoyment varies with my mood. I've made and sold sock monkeys for many years, but my passion is quilting. I'll be using this blog to track the progress of the quilt I'm currently working on, the techniques I'm learning, and the many other various projects that pop up along the way.